Deaths

I don't mean to be morbid by choosing Deaths as the title of this post but it best describes what the topic precisely is.

In the months that I was "away" from the blogosphere, I've heard of the demise of young guys due to HIV-related ailments and complications.  Two of those who passed away were dear friends.

One was more than 30 years old and a very good friend of mine.  He and I belonged to a Facebook group.  Before he passed away, I never knew he was HIV positive since he was full of life and ambition. Months before he died, he was in and out of the hospital because of ailments left and right. Then he expired.  I was completely speechless and shocked when I learned that he died at such a young age and I had a suspicion that he was a PLHIV.  My suspicion was confirmed by my friend's siblings, who revealed to me his status.  They told me my friend simply gave up on living and became depressed. He stopped taking ARVs, which led to health complications.  As a return gesture for revealing the status of my friend, I came out to them and we hugged each other.  It was such an emotional moment.  They would remind me every now and then to never give up like what their brother did.  They instantly became my "sisters."  We still keep in touch every now and then.

The second guy died at the age of 21. He was from the southern part of the metro. We encountered each other via Twitter as he had a poz account.  We never got to meet but we'd often chat with each other via YM.  Then a few months before he moved on, he was acting weird and complained of not feeling well.  The next thing I knew, he passed away several hours after he was rushed to his treatment hub.  I never knew the exact cause of his death but later learned from a common friend what he died of.  I will not reveal here the ailment he died of to protect his privacy and his family.  I was so saddened by his death and since I couldn't go to his wake, I had a Mass sponsored for the eternal repose of his soul.

Before my two friends died, I've been hearings of young guys dying left and right - presumably due to opportunistic infections.  Just last week, I learned that a guy in his early 30s, a model and a regular fixture in the local gay scene, died in a hospital.  I didn't know what he died of but I came across his Facebook profile.  I've seen him already - I told myself.

It is really sad to learn of young guys who have died due to HIV-related illnesses - either because they learned of their status too late and medical intervention couldn't help reverse the effects of HIV infections or worse, they didn't know their status at all.

This is where it is really important to know one's HIV status as early as possible. Like I did. And I am lucky that I survived a bout of pneumonia before I learned of my status in 2010 and thankful that medical intervention is keeping the virus in me at bay.  I am not rid of HIV but I have managed to "tame" it.

More and more cases

I've been following the monthly reports by the National Epidemiology Center (NEC) of the Department of Health (DOH) on the HIV-Aids cases in the country and all I can say is: Sigh

There are more and more new cases recorded in the country, which happens to be one of the few nations where HIV cases are on the rise unlike in others where a downtrend is noted.

The government should really do something to stem the tide before it is too late.

By the way, I was diagnosed in March 26, 2010 so it will be almost three years since I learned of my HIV status and my  so-called "rebirth" happened.

Alarming

I had a recent conversation with the top honcho of Pinoy Plus, a non-government organization (NGO) that caters to and supports people living with HIV (PLHIV) or pozzies, if you may.

He revealed that this year, the country registered the highest increase of HIV cases on a per day basis. I repeat, per day not per month. And whereas migrant workers was the sector where most HIV cases were recorded in the past, it has now shifted to the MSM or men who have sex with men group. Not only that, transmission has become more localized.

He also said that in previous years, the country would only have one case of HIV recorded a day. It became two cases a day starting early this year and then last May, it jumped to five cases per day. New infections make up most of the new cases while the rest are long-time carriers of the virus who only knew about their status recently when they decided to take a HIV test after becoming more aware of the need to know their status.

If it is any consolation, he added, the Philippines still has one of the lowest prevalence rate of HIV/Aids cases in the world.

Much really needs to be done to stem the continuing rise of HIV cases in the country. This can be done through an aggressive promotion of the awareness of HIV/Aids in the country by the public and private sectors. We should all act now lest we see a HIV/Aids epidemic blow up in our faces in the near future.

An impossible mission

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral had been quoted in newspaper reports as saying during last Monday's HIV summit held in a hotel in Manila that "we need to show we're serious in our aim to bring down (HIV-Aids cases here)".

I don't know if she gave it a lot of thought first before issuing the statement because I believe that you cannot stop the number of HIV-Aids from rising. One of the reasons why the country is experiencing a spike in the HIV-Aids cases is because more and more people are having themselves tested if they have the virus that destroys one's immune system unlike before when individuals who engaged in high-risk activities like unprotected sex and sharing of needles were scared of getting tested for fear of stigma if they prove positive of HIV or there were no adequate counseling services available back then.

The country's small number of HIV-Aids cases in the past was actually "just the tip of the iceberg". There were many unreported cases, I am sure, which included persons who didn't even know they had HIV because they did not get tested.

But now, since adequate counseling is available before and after a HIV test and with government protection and services for HIV-positive persons provided under Republic Act 8504, we now see many getting themselves tested.

I see the continued rise in HIV-Aids cases in the country and for Secretary Cabral to say they want to bring it down is like saying you want to stop the sun from shining.